Nationwide making huge change to bank accounts affecting millions within weeks
Nationwide Building Society is making a huge change to bank accounts next month, and millions will be affected.
The building society will be cutting the interest rates offered on almost 90 savings accounts from February 1. Nationwide will be cutting rates by between 0.10% and 0.16% on 89 of its variable rate easy and instant access savings and cash ISA products starting next month.
Alongside this, Nationwide – which has over 17million customers – will be slashing the interest rate on 55 non-ISA savings accounts, with the majority affected being easy access. This means customers can take their money out whenever they fancy without facing a penalty, although some reduce the rate temporarily when a withdrawal is made.
Many accounts with interest rates of around 2.05% will be reduced to approximately 1.80% from February. This includes the building society's Branch Easy Access, Cashbuilder Book, Cashbuilder Card, and Direct Easy Access accounts. Some accounts will see smaller reductions to their rates, with Nationwide's 1 Year Triple Access Online Saver and various "Smart" accounts dropping between 0.10% and 0.25%, respectively.
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However, one Nationwide account will see its interest rise from next month, with its Branch Single Access account rate increasing by 0.75% from 2.8% to 3.55%.
Nationwide will be cutting interest rates on 34 ISAs, with most of its variable cash ISAs having rates cut by 0.25%. This includes the building socity's held ISAs such as the Branch Easy Access ISA, various "Easy" ISAs (Easy Access, Easy Cash, Easy Saver, e-ISA), Direct Cash ISA, Inheritance ISA, Instant Access ISA, Instant ISA, Instant ISA Saver, ISA Bond ex TESSA, Online ISA Issue 8, and Web ISA.
While some other accounts also see reductions, these are generally smaller, such as the 0.10% decrease on the 1 Year Triple Access Online ISA and the 0.10% drop on Branch Reward ISA and Loyalty ISA.
The cuts come three months after the Bank of England cut its base interest rate by 0.25 percentage points from 5% to 4.75%. The building society said that it had "worked hard" to limit the impact of this cut, deciding to keep its savings rates as they were – including its leading 8% Flex Regular Saver account. However, it needed to now cut the rates on other accounts.
Tom Riley, Nationwide's director of retail products, said: "We have worked hard to limit the impact of the recent rate cut on our savers and have taken the decision to hold rates on some of our most popular accounts, such as our leading Flex Regular Saver. Following these changes, our savings range will remain competitive. We returned a record £950million in member financial benefit in the first half of this year and we'll continue to give savers every reason to put their money with Nationwide."
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